Sunday, January 23, 2011

thanks for your patience. the road, we've found, has allowed for little time with access to the interwebs.

Thursday marked the drive of death up to Dayton. We knew a great big snowstorm was coming in and we drove straight into it. Kevin showed Swarzenneger-like skill and heroism on the icy roads and we pulled up into the white-out ghost town of downtown Dayton. To our pleasant surprise, a whole slew of others had braved the elements, too, and Canal Street Tavern was bumping with cozy enthusiastics. Our friends in Alec Delphenic Trio (formerly baby-faced Alec boasted an epic beard) did a surprise cover of STONE COLD FOX which blew our brains, and the incredible Bengsons followed. Shaun and Abi Bengson are married, in love, and touring the country making spectacularly personal music. I met them when I saw their play at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival in which they told the story of their adventures around four continents in the form of hilarious, beautiful songs. We went on amidst a small and proud throng of painted faces (friends had found the facepaint in our stuff and started passing it around) and afterward left Dayton to get a head start on the drive to Philadelphia.

alec, before

alec, after

We careened in to Philly Friday night and were awestruck by how stunningly gorgeous the city is. We took some really fantastic pictures of our cameras' flashes on the inside of the van windows.

Legendary Dobbs was a small venue in a vibrant art district on South St. where bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Green Day, and Oasis played when they were baby bands like us. Show was packed and hot. Special thanks to Seanny's cousin Karianne for pimping out our merch and to Arielle for hooking us up with an awesome hotel suite!!

currently we are en route to NYC on the New Jersey Turnpike. our first stop will be Pete's Candy Store in Brooklyn, which besides having a mildly creepy title hosts a popular open-mic on Sunday evenings.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Kevin comin at ya from just outside Baltimore on an incredibly cold day on the east coast. I am titling this blog post according to what I believe is a mutual understanding between all of us on this tour that lining up two hotel room chairs and an ottoman does not make a comfortable sleeping surface. But nonetheless, I have to thank everyone so far who has lent us free space in their homes or hotel rooms. Last night we had a fantastic first show ever in Philadelphia at The Legendary Dobbs, and tonight we have an acoustic show at Teavolve in Baltimore. Hope to see some smiling faces there!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

What up! Seany here blogging from the road. We braved the ice and snow to make it to our show with the Alec Delphenic Trio & The Bengsons tonight & are now driving to columbus to spend the night. Rest assured you'll hear more from us tomorrow! Much love!Sean

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

We're warm and cozy, awaiting showtime in the hip art-deco den of Uptown Cafe in Valparaiso, IN. It's nestled at the base of the Valpo University student apartments, and has the most original, delicious recipes for sandwiches, pizzas.... about an hour ago I put a s'wich in my mouth and felt immediately like I hadn't done enough good deeds in my life to deserve it.

Last night was a surprise. Owner and big bearhug-giver Art at the Coney Island dive bar in South Bend kindly allowed us to play a short set during their Tuesday open mic night. We set up the full band in the tiny front window and played to a tightly-packed crowd inches from their faces. Afterward, Art grabbed me and held me tight, excitedly muttering kind words peppered with profanity.

Before all this we became acquainted with Mr. Don Sir. Everyone must know. At the beginning of the night, shortly after we arrived, an elderly gentleman stood up to the mic with his weathered guitar. Ancient-faced, nearly toothless, and bullfrog-voiced, this man spoke as if through a greasy kazoo. To our delight, his banter became increasingly vulgar and he began playing a song - a parody of Let It Snow - whose subject was definitely, unmistakably.. fellatio. At the end of the night Mr. Don Sir gave me a CD of 30 of his parodies (he punned "pair-o-double-d's"), croaking in my ear that I had to wait until I was home to listen in case I laughed myself into a car wreck (this really happened last time).

On the way home we resisted putting the CD in and arrived at our friend Heather's place in Valpo. There waiting for us was her beautiful, enormous female American Bulldog named Lila. She was very affectionate. She especially liked Brad. She liked him so much that she tried to have babies with him... again, and again, and again. She was so big that Brad couldn't really do anything about it, and rather than help we stood by laughing in mixed horror/hysteria.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The tour has begun, and we are on our way up north to the Icy Tundra of South Bend, Indiana. This will be Fighting Irish territory!!! Playing our first show at McCormicks Coney Island, which is either a college bar, abandoned ferris wheel factory, or a sea-locked oasis of chili dogs...?

Wish us luck... we'll see you all at a show!!!

Special thanks goes out to Heather for providing us shelter tonight (owner of Uptown Cafe in Valparaiso)

Walk the Moon was one of my personal highlights from the recent MidPoint Music Festival, where the band played a high-energy set wonderfully showcasing its dance-friendly beats, New Wave jubilance and Art Pop creativity. As solid as the foursome is live, I was still a bit stunned by how advanced, imaginative and proficient Walk the Moon comes across on its enchanting debut album, i want! i want!, which is to be released Saturday in conjunction with a multimedia event at The Mockbee.

While the band’s Talking Heads influence is most evident during its live show (they did an exhilarating, wall-shaking version of “Burning Down the House” at MidPoint), myriad other inspirations combine on i want! i want! to create Walk the Moon’s distinct sound. While ’80s New Wave plays a part (mostly via the assorted synth sounds and riffs), you’ll also detect more contemporary sounds in the mix, from more recent Dance/Rock to modern Indie Pop. But it’s the more timeless songwriting, striking (and never pandering) hooks and craftily constructed arrangements that will keep you coming back to the album.

The band’s use of space is remarkable; unlike a lot of young artists, WtM resists the urge to fill up the tracks and instead lets them breathe, making the songs more alluring and adding a sense of drama and mystery. The chugging, disco-ball spin of “Anna Sun” rises and falls, allowing the members to weave in counter melodies and use the elbow-room to paint in subtle, crafty quirks. The exquisite “Lisa Baby” is another highlight — the thick, ropy synth lines drive the dance-machine straight into a sunny, atmospheric chorus that’s as irresistible as anything you’ll hear on the radio today.

Along with the creative, unpredictable rhythms and colorful soundscapes (guided often by the keyboards, which take on an array of tonal forms, from twinkling electric piano to those squiggly, sometimes Moog-y synthesizers to straight-up piano and beyond), the expressive vocals are a huge part of the album’s magnetism. Crafted and delivered with the same arty mindset as the instrumentation, frontman/keyboardist Nicholas Petricca’s melodies are blissfully unexpected yet perfectly addictive. Petricca’s expressive, diverse voice (often stacked and layered) is one of the strongest on the local Indie scene (and it ranks up there with some of the finer nationally-known vocalists, as well).

On i want! i want!, Walk the Moon sounds like they’ve taken elements from modern Indie heroes like Franz Ferdinand, TV on the Radio, LCD Soundsystem, Of Montreal, The Killers, Vampire Weekend, Phoenix, Spoon and Modest Mouse, shredded them through their own vivid imaginations and reassembled the patchwork pieces into something focused and original. With a debut as powerful, polished and compelling as i want! i want!, not only would I not be shocked to hear Walk the Moon was being courted by a large indie or major label — I’d be more stunned if the album didn’t draw big attention to the band.